This invention relates to a wheel hub in a corner assembly of a vehicle and a clip through which a rotor is connected to the wheel hub such that the rotor may axially translate during a brake application.
Disc brake systems are commonly used on most vehicles because of their effectiveness in stopping a vehicle. In such systems, a bearing assembly is fixed to a wheel hub that is bolted to a knuckle member or fixed member, a brake rotor is attached to the wheel hub, a caliper that is bolted to the knuckle member spans the rotor and a rim for a wheel is attached to the wheel hub. The knuckle member is pivotally attached to the frame of the vehicle while a fixed member is part of the frame and a caliper is bolted to the knuckle member or fixed member to locate first and second friction members carried by the caliper on opposite sides of the rotor to define a corner assembly. In such a system the rim is attached to the wheel hub through a plurality of bolts that extend from a flange on the wheel hub to clamp the rotor between the flange and the rim. The rotor is clamped through a prescribed torque being applied to nuts that axial compresses the central portion of the wheel rim on to the brake flange on the hub. Should a different torque be applied a nut it is possible to introduce a stress into the rotor that may effect a perpendicular relationship that is desirable between the faces on the rotor and corresponding friction pads retained by the caliper. Processes for manufacturing a corner assembly wherein surfaces on a wheel hub and knuckle are machined in a fixture to maintain a perpendicular relationship between the wheel hub and knuckle are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,212,981 and 6,796,029. In addition, it is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,632 to attach a rotor to a hub through a splined connection and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,794 to weld the rotor onto the flange of a hub. While the machining is designed to establish an initial perpendicular relationship between the axis of the wheel hub and first and second faces on the rotor considerable time, effort and processing must be expended to achieve this desired result whereas in the splined connection a force hold the rotor tight against the hub to maintain the splined connection.